If you want to understand why our country and world are in the shape they're in, you might want to start here with the recent National Journal poll of Congressmen and Senators about their views on climate change.
Asked "Do you think it's been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth is warming because of man-made problems?" 95% of Congressional Democrats said yes. Clearly, they've been paying attention to the majority of climate scientists, including those who wrote the recent authoritative report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
So can you guess how many Republican Congressmen and Senators said yes? Would you believe 13%? And that 84% said no?
So if our most powerful leaders refuse to accept fundamental truths, including overwhelming scientific evidence, is it any wonder that we have been led to the near-disastrous state we're in, from Iraq to the deficit to the melting polar ice caps?
Those are always possible, but I'm thinking of two more likely reasons:
1. The survey is a rather small sample. Granted, there aren't that many "data points" available, but the percentages may be a bit off due to low sample size.
2. Politics. Well duh, these are politicians, so it's to be expected. Specifically, the Republicans know that they receive donations from companies who stand to gain from a "no global warming" stance and that many conservative voters feel global warming is a tree-hugging liberal issue and therefore would be pretty pissed to find out that their Republican is getting soft.
The knee jerk reaction of Republicans to the word "tax" is funny as well. My favorite quote (from a Dem): "Carbonation without taxation" - in reference to a cap-and-trade system.